Gee, it would have been nice to have played Vern some steady/significant minutes LAST season to take all second guessing out of this decission. I fully understand that we were fighting for a playoff spot and the most important thing to do was win games instead of getting a clear picture of what resources we had at our disposal for the future.

...Giving up on a player who averaged 17 freaking rebounds in the D-League is a tough pill to swallow given the other options that we had at that position.

I can't believe BOT got more minutes. Macklin is 25 years old... why did we even bother drafting him or paying him anything if we weren't going to test drive him at all? We were a lotto team from the get-go last year.

I can't believe BOT got more minutes. Macklin is 25 years old... why did we even bother drafting him or paying him anything if we weren't going to test drive him at all? We were a lotto team from the get-go last year.

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Way too much of a log jam at PF/C last year. It simply came down to a numbers game.
You had Greg Monroe...
...and, ummmm, uhhhh.
...you had Greg Monroe.

"We got to work together a lot – it was really good,” Monroe said. “He had a great week out there. He was definitely a beast on the boards. He was working hard, getting a lot of second shots for our team, separating himself from other guys. He worked hard the whole week. I think we all got better last week.”

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Find it mildly encouraging that Andre was apparently good on the boards.

Looks like the two big guys and their PG were on different teams:

Through Orlando and Las Vegas, Monroe saw growth from his point guard as well.​

“He definitely ran his team well, made a lot of great plays,” Monroe said of Knight, who spent part of this week in Calgary and Winnipeg, promoting the Pistons’ preseason game with the Timberwolves in Manitoba and conducting a basketball camp. “This summer, you can tell he learned a lot more about the pro game and about situations. He got a lot better at managing the game and getting people great shots. He did really well out there.”​

Gee, it would have been nice to have played Vern some steady/significant minutes LAST season to take all second guessing out of this decission. I fully understand that we were fighting for a playoff spot and the most important thing to do was win games instead of getting a clear picture of what resources we had at our disposal for the future.

...Giving up on a player who averaged 17 freaking rebounds in the D-League is a tough pill to swallow given the other options that we had at that position.

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What's up my brother!

I like Vern as much as the next guy, but the D-League is a guard's league. Any half way decent big is going to shine there. All of the good bigs are being paid in The League or Europe.

The reverse is certainly an insult. Try calling a Ukrainian a Slovenian and you'll know what I'm talking about. Hell, try calling a Czech a Slovenian and see what happens.. and they shared a country for a bit.

I like Vern as much as the next guy, but the D-League is a guard's league. Any half way decent big is going to shine there. All of the good bigs are being paid in The League or Europe.

He's still just a hustler with a hook. Don't mourn the loss.

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You're absolutely right J-T.
We couldn't afford to throw Vern a few minutes here and there last season. Doing so would have surely caused the Pistons to slip out of that coveted 10th spot in the Eastern conference.

The reverse is certainly an insult. Try calling a Ukrainian a Slovenian and you'll know what I'm talking about. Hell, try calling a Czech a Slovenian and see what happens.. and they shared a country for a bit.

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As someone whose parents are from the Czech Republic, I feel pretty insulted right now (ok, not really). The Czech Republic never shared a country with Slovenians. You are talking about Slowaks. But thanks for confirming the cliche that Americans dont know #?+** about geography :D

As someone whose parents are from the Czech Republic, I feel pretty insulted right now (ok, not really). The Czech Republic never shared a country with Slovenians. You are talking about Slowaks. But thanks for confirming the cliche that Americans dont know #?+** about geography :D

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Size wise, it's like the difference between Montana and Wyoming. I wouldn't expect somebody in Europe to know the difference or care.